What If?
by Rayne Solara
Summary: What if Harry was homeless, and had never gone to Hogwarts? What if Hermione was forced to live his life? A twisted little romance I came up with. HHR


Authors Note: This is a story that I just had to get out of my head before I could write the next chapter of War of the Worlds. The characters belong to JK Rowling. Hope you all enjoy. This is a Harry/Hermione story. If you don't like the ship, don't read. If you do: REVIEW!! If I do not get at least twenty five reviews, I will not write the next chapter.

Summary: What if Harry never went to Hogwarts? What if Hermione was forced to live his life? What if they met one day under strange circumstances? Here is my twisted love story based on a dream I had the other night. Rated R for content just to be safe. Nothing explicit, just implied. Be warned.

What If?

Hermione Granger had lived a hard life. She was not the prudish little bookworm she used to be. Life had hardened her. The war was over for now and she had put a stop to the dark lord Voldemort, she could finally try to relax and have some fun. She had spent her whole childhood studying and preparing for the final battle, she had grown a little cynical and after the murder and death she was forced to witness for the last nine years. Her friend Ron Weasley's father Arthur, had invited her and a guest to join him at the 10th Anniversary extravaganza for Weasley's Dinner Theater and Muggle memorabilia shop in New York. Arthur had made quite a name for himself in the wizarding world with this business venture that combined dinner, performers who danced like muggle pop stars, and a shop that sold Muggle items and books to the wizarding community. Mr. Weasley had always been obsessed with Muggles so it was no surprise when he opened this shop to cater to wizards who shared the same obsession. As it turned out, there were a surpriing number of people who were fascinated by Muggles as well. After the anniversary show, Hermione and her best friend Lavender Brown, whom had been her date for the evening due to Hermione's lack of a boyfriend decided to make the short walk to the hotel instead of battling the crowd for a taxi cab. The only problem was that she and Lavender had made a wrong turn and before they knew it, were very lost on a dark street. They didn't hear the footsteps coming up swiftly behind them until it was too late. They tried to walk faster, but the footsteps just kept pace with them. Suddenly Lavender let out a scream as someone grabbed her shoulder and started pulling at her purse, which Lavender tried to hold onto for dear life. Hermione felt the presence of a second person behind her as well, but when he went for her purse, she wheeled around and grabbed it away from him faster than he could close his fist around it. She simply stared at her assailant and said in a voice that was cold and harsh.

"Do not even think about it."

Her assailant stopped dead as if he were scared. She then stalked over to Lavender and pulled Lavenders purse away from the other thief so hard, that he fell backwards at the loss of contact. She handed Lavender her purse.

"You think you are so much better than us don't you." The first thief hissed.

"Yeah I do." Hermione replied and then wheeled around and approached the other thief.

"Thought we were easy targets didn't you." She said to the second thief who had been far less sneaky than the first one.

"I have to admit I did." He said with what Hermione recognized as shame in his voice.

She stepped closer to the second thief and as she came closer he slowly backed up into the light. HErmione noticed that the man who had attempted to attack her was actually extremely handsome under the dirt on his face. He had messy Brown Hair that was and Blue eyes. His clothes were dirty. She also noticed they didn't match. He had on a pair of faded orange cargo shorts, and a ratty tie-dyed t-shirt covered by a tattered zip-up navy blue hooded sweatshirt. His shoes looked like they had walked there last step, and were ripping at the soles. Something about him told her he was homeless. Then she did something that no one expected.

"What's your name?" She asked him

"My friends call me Mark." He answered

"Well, Mark, you are hot, why don't you come back to my hotel room." She offered.

"Why?" He asked very puzzled

"One night stand. No obligations." She said briefly.

"OK." He said as she took his arm. He was thinking of a nice warm bed to sleep in and a place to take a shower.

Lavender, just watched flabbergasted, and then quickly followed them as they walked back toward the hotel.

The other thief just sat there still on the ground watching with his mouth wide open.

Lavender went straight to her room when they reached the hotel. Hermione escourted Mark up to her room. She showed him where the shower was so he could clean up. Little did the poor guy know that she had a plan for him. Even though he had tried to rob her, she felt something that she couldn't explain when she looked into his eyes. Like he was hiding something from everyone he knew. She quickly pulled out her wand once she was sure he was in the shower.

"Scourgify" She whispered. Instantly his clothes were clean. She then decided that she would fix them up a bit for him. She transfigured the Ugly orange shorts into Black Dress pants. She took the t-shirt and turned it into a dark blue dress shirt and the sweatshirt turned into a black suit coat. When he emerged from the shower he found the new clothes waiting for him. She noticed that his body was muscular, but a little thin.

"I have decided I want to go out to dinner first. I want to get to know you." She told him knowing he probably hadn't eaten a good meal in a long time.

"Ok" he said and quickly got dressed. She had to admit that he looked killer. She felt her heart flutter when he smiled at her as he came out of the bathroom.

They went out to a fancy restaurant, and they had a delightful time. Hermione had to admit she was hoping to find out a-lot more about him than she did. It seemed she had done all the talking. Hermione knew that any man would be embarrassed if the woman paid for dinner, it must be even worse when you have nothing and the woman knows it, so when the bill came she knew Mark would be surprised to find exactly the amount he needed in a black leather wallet that had appeared in his pocket. When the waitress came over and Mark handed her the money for the check, Hermione knew that he had felt more like a man than he had in a long time. This made her smile inwardly.

"Let's take a walk through the park." Hermione told him.

"Are you sure you want to go into the park at night?" He said uneasily.

"Don't worry, no one will hurt us." She said with a laugh.

"Ok." He agreed reluctantly.

After a long silence she finally voiced the question that had been on her mind since they met.

"What happened to you? Someone as young and attractive as you are, and you are homeless?" You couldn't find a girl to take you in? Or a job? You just don't look like your typical vagrant to me." She said curiously.

"I used to have a job and a girlfriend. I used to be a stock broker on Wall Street. When the market crashed after 9-11, my company downsized and my job was one of the ones that was cut. Once my job was gone so was my girlfriend. It turned out she was only in it for the money and the rich people she got to meet at company parties. After that, the job market was so tight, and I just didn't trust women for a while, and my life fell apart. I met Mike, and we started stealing to survive. I hate it, but it is all I can do, and as you see, I am not very good at it." He admitted.

"I see."

"How about you?" He asked. "Why would a girl invite some homeless guy back to her hotel room?"

"I just need to escape reality I guess." She admitted with a sigh.

"What happened to you that you have to escape." He asked.

"I fought a war."

She realized that she had never shared her story with a Muggle before.

"So you are in the army?" He asked puzzled

"No, a different kind of war, one where you do not use guns." She replied with a laugh.

"What do you use then?" He asked innocently.

"Magic." She said frankly.

She was surprised to see a flash of understanding in his eyes. He did not respond to her, he just stared past her lost in his own thoughts it seemed.

"Why don't you tell me about it?" He suddenly replied after a long silence.

"When I was 11, she continued, I received a letter that changed my life. It informed me that I had been accepted into a school of witchcraft and wizardry called Hogwarts. I was supposed to be in the same year as a very famous boy named Harry Potter, who had lived through an attack by a very powerful dark wizard. He was supposed to be the one who would defeat the dark lord if he ever rose again. We were all very excited to meet him, only he never came. He had been sent a letter, but he like I had grown up in a Muggle world, and he decided that he wanted to keep it that way. He wanted to go to a Muggle school and dreamed of becoming something great in Muggle society.

She paused here noticing that he did not question her use of the word Muggle. She decided that he probably was confused and thinking she was a loony. It didn't matter though, since this was a one night stand after all. So she continued.

"From what I heard he was very smart and got a full scholarship to the best college in England. The funny thing was that he was never seen though. Everyone looked for him, but the day after he refused the letter, he disappeared. It wouldn't be hard to recognize him if you ever came across him since the Dark Lord left a Lightning Bolt scar on his forehead, marking him. Anyway, when he didn't show up, the Dark Lords followers regrouped resurrected him, and started to terrorize the wizarding world. I suppose they would have done that anyway even if he had come, but still, maybe he would have been able to protect us a little longer. Since he wasn't there someone had to step in and try to defeat the Dark Lord. I was chosen. I was forced to live the life that was meant for Harry Potter. I had to battle and defeat Lord Voldemort. It was hard, most of my friends and family died, and I am now broken and tired. That is why I wanted to escape. The worst part is that it is not over. I cannot kill Voldemort. Only Harry can. So before I begin my search for him, I decided to come to New York and have a little fun."

"Wow, that is some story, but why couldn't you kill him?" He asked concerned.

"There is a prophecy, basically it states that the one whom the dark lord marked must kill him or be killed by him. That one is Harry Potter. Until I find him, I have found a spell that has slowed Voldemort down a little. But it will not last forever, only for about a year." She told him.

"What did you do to him?" He asked uneasily.

"I turned him into an infant. The spell only lets him grow two years every month, so in one year he will be 24 and all his memories will come flooding back to him because when I cast the spell that was all I had the energy left to do. My friends Ron and Luna are taking care of him till then." She replied.

Why would you take care of someone who tried to destroy your world? What happens if he turns on them?" Mark was really getting into his questions because he started waving his arms through the air as he was asking them, a clear panic in his voice.

"Because right now he is just a baby. He can't take care of himself and I would rather have people who are good and kind and trustworthy raise him the second time. Maybe it will have some kind of lasting effect on him. If he does turn on them, they are two of the best wizarding people I know." Hermione said seriously.

Mark had been listening intently to everything Hermione had been saying. He had calmed down a little.

"I can understand your need to escape." He said softly.

Hermione became quiet. She was pondering his reaction to the story she had just told him.

"Are you ok?" Mark asked her concerned.

"Yeah she said as she snapped out of her thoughts. "Just thinking that's all.

Let's head back, it's getting cold out."

He agreed and followed her back to her hotel room.

Once they were back, Hermione excused herself to go shower.

Mark turned toward the mirror that hung over the small vanity outside the bathroom door. He stared long and hard into it. Guilt written all over his face. This poor girl had been through so much, and yet she was still caring enough to dress him up and take him out. She even planted money in his suit coat so he wouldn't be embarrassed at dinner. He couldn't understand why she didn't have some doting Boyfriend who would give her the world if she just asked for it. She was very pretty, with Chocolate brown eyes, and long brown hair, her features were a little hardened by her ordeal he guessed, but she still looked so full of life. He couldn't help but wonder how she had managed to fight the war on her own. He swore everything she had told him sounded familiar. Like he had heard it somewhere before. He just couldn't place it.

A pair of arms snaking around his waist interrupted his thoughts. He focused back on the mirror and noticed Hermione was finished with her shower. She had put on a slinky black negligee and had snuck up behind him.

You know, you will be the first Muggle I have ever been with? She said in a throaty voice.

"And you will be the first real witch I have been with." He said with a smile.

She let out a small chuckle.

"It will be nice to finally be able to enjoy myself for a night." She said wistfully. "When I sleep with wizards, they seem to relive my battles, I dare not ever sleep with one again, not after this last battle, it was to horrific."

"Let's not think about that now, This is your time." He said gently.

He gently brought his lips to hers, and they began to slowly kiss each other, suddenly, the slow kissing turned into a hungry, lustful one. They were both so desperate to escape there lives, that there was nothing they wanted to do more than lose themselves in each other. And just as they climaxed, something happened. Images started flashing through marks head. Horrible Images of wizard battles and murderous monsters. He let out a scream. He looked down at Hermione, and saw that her eyes had closed as she was enjoying her orgasm. As they slowly came down from there emotional high, Hermione opened her eyes and gasped. Mark's eyes had turned from a deep blue to an emerald green, and on his forehead appeared a lightning bolt scar. As soon as he separated from her, he hid his face in his hands. Hermione was trying to piece together what had just happened. She put her hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her. She took her index finger and lightly traced the scar as if she was checking to see if it was real.

"Harry," she let out in a soft whisper.

His eyes widened at the mention of his real name.

"I am so sorry, I had no idea." He tried to explain weakly, images of Hermione's life still burned in his mind.

"You couldn't have known, it's not your fault," Hermione said gently.

"Yes it is. Your life was meant for me. I was supposed to go through these awful things. When I decided against coming to the school it was because I just wanted a normal life. I wasn't ready, I didn't think it mattered. I ran away from my Aunt and Uncles house when I was 12. I was taken in by a kindly old lady named Mrs. Twigs. Her husband had died and she needed some help around the house. After I rejected my invitation to Hogwarts, this old wizard put a cloaking spell on me to conceal my identity until I was old enough. He said my scar was legendary, and if anyone saw it I would be in danger. Every year it wore off slightly and I began to look more like myself, but still without the scar, I was normal. No one suspected. All I know about the wizarding world, I read from a book that the old wizard gave me. He told me if I ever changed my mind, to find an owl in the woods and give it a letter addressed to the name Dumbledore. When Mrs. Twigs died, she left me just enough money to get through College. After that I was on my own, and you know the rest." He said remorsefully.

Hermione looked at him and asked "Are you ready now?"

"I don't know." He said honestly.

"Harry, this wizard, that I have been fighting, he killed your parents. He killed my family, my friends. The war will not end until you defeat him. If you are not ready, I will figure out another way to prolong his return until you are." Hermione said tiredly.

"No!" Harry jumped up and grabbed her hands in his suddenly. "I will not put you through another battle after everything I have seen. He looked away quickly and focused his eyes on the floor. I justneed to take it all in. I need some time."

"I understand it is a lot to take on," Hermione said gently, "and I will give you time, but I do need an answer as soon as you make up your mind. There will be a lot of training involved if you accept."

25 reviews or else I will not continue this story......Laughs evilly.


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